Tuesday, April 29, 2008

So, I'm back from my visit to Oklahoma. I actually got back last night around 10:00 p.m., but I was so exhausted from driving that I knew I would not be blogging until today. My main concern last night was just unloading the car and getting ready for bed.

I had a great visit while I was at home. I do enjoy my family although there were a few tense moments with one of my grandmothers when she found out my nose was pierced. She was quite upset by it, but she acted ridiculous about it. It's just a nose piercing! It's not even permanent! Anyway, other than that I had a grand time. I ate alot and I'm not even joking when I say that. Olive Garden with my friends, steak with my parents, pumpkie pie and mashed potatoes at my other grandma's...this always happens when I go home.

I also stocked up on some summer things while I was at home and I think I'm almost ready for summer.

Two pairs of white Old Navy flip-flops. Check

One fun Summer Handbag. Check

One super-cute summer skirty. Check

And some books to get me through a few weeks of the summer. Check

I'd say I'm well-stocked for the time being.

I spent most of today trying to get the house picked up. Sean did a good job of keeping the kitchen clean, but the rest of the house needed to be vaccumed, laundry needed to be done and our bedding needed to be washed and changed too. I did take a little time out for tanning though. Boomer is great for pest control while I'm tanning. There are lots of little bugs that like to fly around and he quickly snaps them up and eats them. He even got one out of my hair for me. What a funny little dog he is!

Sean won't be home until much later tonight. He has a jump this evening and most likely won't be home until after 10:00 p.m. He also has a 12 mile road march among other things this week. I'm a little disappointed though because we were planning on going to New Orleans this weekend for JazzFest and to sightsee, but they aren't getting a four day this weekend after all, so that plan is off. I'm not too disappointed though, I know sometime in the near future I'll get to go there again.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

I've heard this a lot lately and no I have no children, so its not from them that I'm hearing this.

I've actually been hearing this from a lot of spouses, mostly concerning moving.

I have to admit it gets pretty irritating to hear that over and over.

"But I don't want to move! I don't want to be that far away from my family! I've heard bad things about (insert name of post here).

I understand that to a degree. I mean, I moved 10 hours away from my family to live with Sean at Ft. Polk. Next January I will move across the ocean to Italy and be extremely far away from my family and I'm not complaining. Will I miss them? Yes! Do I already miss them? Yes! Do I complain and gripe about it all the time? No! I understand the fear of moving somewhere new, having to meet new people, adjust to life there. That's normal! But constantly worrying and griping about where you are going is like a rocking chair. IT gives you something to do, but you get nowhere.

We ARE married to someone who is in the military, obviously at some point in your life you aren't going to be overjoyed about where you are assigned. Life is what you make it. If you complain and mope then you are going to be miserable, if you make the best of it and your time there, then you are going to have fond memories of that place. I just wish people would understand that and stop throwing their little pity parties.

Yesterday in my AFTB class we learned about coping with change. You can either be a Change Master, someone who handles change in a positive way and does what they can to adapt or someone who is a Change Victim, who has a negative attitude about change and their situation.

I decided right then and there that I was going to try my hardest to be a change master. I have been more of a victim these last couple of months at Fort Polk, complaining how I have no friends and no job. This week though I've really tried to get out there and expand my horizons and this is the happiest I've been since we moved here.

Ok...vent over.

On a positive note, my well woman's exam and job interview both went really well today. The doctor who examined me was amazing! I told her my problems with my last birth control and she suggested something else and said if that didn't work then we would try things until we found something that did work for me. Hearing that really made me feel a lot better.

My job interview was probably one of the best I've had. It was at a claims office which handles claims for the Sherriff's association of Louisana. It sounds very interesting, the hours are great, the pay is good and everyone is friendly, and it's a small office, which I like. I think I really impressed my interviewer with some of my answers and he really needs someone to just fill this position temporarily, as in around a year, so with us leaving for Italy that works out great. He told me he'd most likely be calling me next week, so I'm really hoping that he does.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

I think I might be going "home" this weekend. Technically I know home is wherever the Army sends us, but I will never stop thinking of Oklahoma as my home. I lived there for 24 years, so it's kind of hard to think of it as anything less than that.

Sean has a four day weekend, but since he is currently on standby status, it's not really a good idea for him to be 10 hours away in Oklahoma, so he's staying here. I never look forward to the long drive, but audio books make the drive seem so much shorter! I learned that on my last drive down here and I swear I'll never take a long trip without them again!

I'm excited to see my friends and family back home. I'm trying to see them as much as possible and as much as our pocketbook can afford before we PCS to Italy next January. I plan on seeing all my grandparents and of course my immediate family as well as some close friends. I also think I'll be eating at my favorite sushi place. Oh how I have missed the sushi at In the Raw! What a treat it will be. :)

Today was my first Army Family Team Building class. I have to say for the most part I really enjoyed it. I learned some things that I didn't already know and met some new people as well. I really enjoyed learning about the various volunteer opportunites that are available. Some of them sound like something I'd like to involve myself with.

Sean cooked hamburgers tonight and they were just delicious. Man, he can cook! He just goes by instinct and he always seems to know what works and what doesn't. He put Swiss cheese, onions and mushrooms on my burger. Sans bun of course, since I'm limiting my bread intake.

My little dog Boomer is something else. I think he was mad at us today because he was crated for quite awhile since I was taking classes and Sean was too. I would put him in the yard, but he's such a little escape artist and always manages to get outside the fence. So until we get some of large cage for the backyard he has to be crated inside. He's such a smart, little puppy! Sometimes he really aggravates me and I have to admit my desire to have children soon has gone down a bit since getting a dog. Being responsible for him right now is enough for me!

Well, tomorrow is going to be a bit busy for me, I have a couple of hours of class, then my yearly exam (oh joy!) and a job interview. Should be an interesting day!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Today so far has been spectacular and I really don't say that about Mondays very often at all.

Mostly because I had some female companionship today, which is something I've really been lacking since I moved down here to Ft. Polk. As some of you may know I'm a member of Army Wives Forums. Recently another girl joined that was here at Fort Polk and I kind of knew her as a friend of a friend. Well, today she texted me and asked if I wanted to come hang out with her and her little boys at the park. I accepted and I had a good time getting to know her. She and her family will be PCSing to Italy about two months after Sean and I, so I'm looking forward to getting to know her here and then having another friend in Italy.

Just an hour with another person in the same situation as I am, really made my day.

Currently I am working on supper while Sean studies for his HazMat class. I'm making chicken covered in some honey and BBQ sauce from Oklahoma that Sean and I both enjoy. I've put the chicken in foil packets on top of some potatoes and onions and I'm getting ready to make green beans with almonds. Should be a delicious dinner!

Tomorrow and Thursday I am attending Army Family Team Building from 8:30-2:30, which I've heard is a lot of fun. Even if I don't have a job I think I can still take classes and do things that will help on my resume. I think if I don't get this job that I'm interviewing for on Wednesday that I'm going to start volunteering at ACS a couple of days during the week. I really need to get out, learn something and meet some more people. I can't be a hermit forever!

Well, time to start on my green beans. Hope all of you had a fantastic Monday!

Friday, April 18, 2008

I woke up this morning to the sound of hard rain falling outside my window. I love waking up to it raining. It's such a relaxing sound to me. Today I thought I'd share a few other things that I love. Just a mini-list of things in my life that I have an affection for. I'm leaving Sean, my friends and family off my list since those are always an obvious first three. :)

1. Blogging, I find it so relaxing and theraputic to blog. I like being able to look back and see what I was thinking and feeling at certain times.

2. Travel. I have so many places I still want to see in the world. I love to travel! My parents tried every year to take my brother and I someplace new and different. That's something I want to do with my children as well.

3. Food. I'm a big foodie, I admit it freely. I love trying new foods, I'm adventurous in that respect. I love Indian food( especially their appetizers) all kinds of pasta, shrimp and crab, sushi, and Mexican food is my favorite by far. I love trying new recipes out of the Kraft Food and Family magazine that I get too.

4. Reeses Peanut Butter cups. Really the only candy I eat.

5. Reading. It's my biggest hobby. I love to read. I didn't have so much time in college to do so, but now that I've graduated I've gotten back into reading alot. Non-fiction is my favorite genre. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume is my all-time favorite book.

And now for a random, quick list with no explanations of everything else I love.

Shoes, scrapbooking, photography, Ansel Adams, Disney movies, working-out, tanning, having a clean house, when Sean cooks dinner for me, the smell right after it rains, fresh-cut grass, Yankee candles, phone calls and letters from people I care about, Iced Chai lattes from Starbucks, learning new things, football, laughing and meeting new people.

Monday, April 14, 2008

I always have to have chapstick somewhere on my being or at least in my purse. I even take it into the gym with me when I work out. There's nothing worse than having dry lips after running. I'm not sure when my reliance on chapstick started, but I'd say I've at least had it since middle school.

I prefer Chapstick for everyday use, although I usually layer other glosses or lipstick over it. I just can't stand it when my lips are dry! And I can't stand it when I see people with chapped lips.

Perhaps this is some weird OCD thing of mine? I'm not really sure. I think right now I have about 3 tubes of Chapstick and who knows how many other glosses. Hey at least it's an inexpensive addiction, right?

Sunday, April 13, 2008

I do so love the weekends, even though Sean had to work this Saturday it still ended up being a good weekend for us. Last night we had a good discussion, although in part of the discussion we discussed deployments and that made me cry. Realistically I knew what I was getting into when I married someone that was going to be a lifer in the military. I knew the dangers of him deploying and that the fact is something could happen to him. Even knowing this though it certaintly doesn't make it any easier.

Anyway, today was just kind of a lazy day for us. I went and worked out at the gym. I even ran/jogged quickly at the gym for 20 straight minutes. Some might scoff at that, but I am NOT a runner by any means so it's a big step for me. Let's me know I'm getting into decent shape. I haven't eaten the best this weekend though. Come Monday I'm going to have to keep myself away from the fried and mashed potatoes that I so enjoyed this weekend.

Sean made dinner tonight. He baked tilapia with some lemon pepper on it, made mashed potatoes and a pasta salad. Not exactly on my diet, but it was good. I love it when he cooks. He's so good at it. I have yet to eat a meal that he's cooked that I don't enjoy.

For the next two weeks Sean will be taking a Haz-Mat class at the education center, which means he'll be off work at decent times, so that's a plus. I have several things I have to get done this week. Mainly sending in my taxes and getting my medical records back home sent to the hospital here. I just hate going to the hospital though because it's so busy and crowded.

Well...I hope everyone starts out their week well tomorrow with a good Monday. :)

Saturday, April 12, 2008

I FINALLY got my wedding pictures from the photographer yesterday. The most it was supposed to be was 75 days, but it was well over 90 days before I got my pictures.

He gave us 4 cd's with all the pictures on there and also an album of 200 pictures that he printed off.

Overall, I think they turned out decently. However, there were so many pictures on the CD's that turned out dark and a few were out of focus. Maybe it's just the photographer in me, but I wasn't completely satisfied with how they turned out. Currently I am going through the CD's and using Picasa to brigthen the dark pictures and add other effects that I wanted. So at least I can do that with the pictures. I have a few favorites. I'll share a couple of them on here.

Since Sean is working today I feel a little bored, but I am going to go do my hour of free weights sometime today and also clean on the house a bit. You would think with two people and a small dog that it wouldn't get that dirty, but somehow it always does. I even clean up several times during the week and still by the weekend it needs to be picked up again. Such is the life of a housewife I guess!

I also need to drop Sean's Class A's off at the alterations place today. He got promoted to Specialist on April 1st, so I took in his OG's to have them done a couple of days ago and now it's the Class A's turn. Sean is on funeral duty again, second time in 3 months, which is rare, so he could have to have his Class A's at any time.

Well, if I'm going to get anything done today I need to get off here for awhile. I have another post in my head though so you might just see two from me today.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

So...right as I sit down to write this blog at my computer desk something catches my eye. I look in the corner and there is a large, nasty spider just hanging out. He totally gave me the heebie-jeebies so I made my way to the kitchen, grabbed some bug spray and spritzed the life right out of him. Then for good measure I smashed him with Sean’s flip-flop. Unfortunately I still feel like things are crawling on me and I can’t stand that! Ew....ew! (Ok..that was totally girlie sounding, but I hate spiders!)

Today was a decent day. For one, I went and worked out which always makes me feel better. I did weights for about an hour. Oh...and to update everyone I’m down 9lbs so far on my new "healthy life plan". I have to admit I don’t always stick to the letter to eating healthy foods. I had a personal pan supreme pizza from Pizza Hut last weekend which was heavenly and I had an amazing baked potato tonight. I’m not going to completley give up everything I love to eat. I’m too much of a foodie for that. I’m already plotting my culinary adventures when I’m in Europe. I mentioned to Sean the other day we could visit Parma and acquire some very fresh parmesean cheese. None of this shaken from the Kraft can crap that I currently use. Somehow I don’t think he was quite as excited about it as I was.

I’ve been requesting brouches from surrounding countries of Italy. I’ve already gotten an Austria, France and Switzerland brouchure. The Swiss brouchure is the best. Those Swiss don’t scrimp on their tourist material! It’s actually almost like a book with tons of beautiful photos of Switzerland. I’m already picking out places I want to go. I’m scheduled to be there for 3 years so I’m sure I’ll be able to get alot in. I say I’m scheduled to be there instead of we since a good chunk of the time we’ll be there Sean will most likely be in Afghanistan. I’m definitely getting the better end of that deal.

Boomer and I made our first visit to the vet today. I thought he did rather well. He didn’t bite anyone and he didn’t pee in the floor so I’ll give him some kudos for that and say it was an excellent visit. When they called us back for the appointment they announced "Boomer Payne". I wasn’t aware dogs were being called by their last names these days? It was pretty amusing though. The clinic here on-post is a lot cheaper in my opinion. The medicine I got him today was about $60 bucks, but it’ll last for about 6 months and I got him both tick and flea and heartworm medicine. The actual visit only cost $2. I can’t imagine I’d be able to pay $62 bucks for a vet visit in the civilian world. Sometimes the perks of the Army make this life worth it.

Sean and I watched Walk the Line tonight. I’ve seen most of the movie about 3 times, but the last 30 minutes of it I always miss. I finally got to see all of it tonight. It made me tear up a bit, I’m not going to lie. I’m thinking about purchasing it the next time that I go to FYE, I should be able to find it used, which should be pretty cheap. I’m all about FYE these days. I got some good deals when I went there last weekend. I got Season 3 of Will and Grace for $15, the 1st and 2nd season of Seinfeld for $20 and a couple of Disney movies for $30 total.

Sean and I are thinking of going to New Orleans Jazz Fest coming up here in a couple of weeks. I’d love to go to it. I’m not sure when I’d get the chance to go to it again and the experience would be awesome. I really hope that we get to go. It’s over 2 weekends and there’s so many people playing. Lots of regional and local favorites and some bigger name people too. Al Green, Santana, Jimmy Buffett, Tim McGraw, Keisha Cole, Stevie Wonder, Bonnie Raitt and Billy Joel.